Olympics

You know what ... I love the Olympics. And I know I'm not the only one, but as of recent there are some people on facebook saying they haven't watched much or any at all! That's like saying you'd rather not watch the Superbowl or even one game of the World Series - crazy! Not only do I enjoy watching the country I so proudly live in dominate, I really like watching sports that I'm neither good at or know much about and learning. Ask me anything (except stats) about volleyball and I could pry tell you! There's something about it that just makes me want to know more. I like playing volleyball, but as my ultra competitive neighbor can tell you, I'm not very good. When I was a kid I had HIGH aspirations of becoming an Olympic athlete. (But I also wanted to be a Paleontologist ... seriously) I was going to go in track and field. Which now seems a joke since I am incredibly slow, but when I was in elementary school I was the fastest kid in our whole school and second fastest out of 4 area elementary schools. I had a natural ability to run very very fast. Now, if there had been someone in my life to foster that ability, I think I could be there right now. No one told me to do it - go for it. My parents were always excellent parents, but they were not domineering. Which most people would say is good. I think there are two sides. Parents who demand excellence from their kids usually get it and it's honestly for the betterment of the child. My parents attitude was "she's doing better than we ever did" and that was something to celebrate. I could do anything I wanted and stop doing anything I didn't want. For example, they took me out of dance and all my sports (except swimming) because I never said I wanted to keep doing it. Little did they know I DID want to keep going, I think I was oblivious when they asked. Around 5th grade I had wondered why my schedule wasn't as full as it used to be, and a few years later I realized that my parents had to sign me up and they stopped doing that a long time ago. When I tried to break back into softball, I went from being on top to terrible. I no longer had good cleats that fit, my mitt was too small and I didn't have socks, sliding shorts, or a bat bag. Needless to say, that year was my last year. I'd lost my stuff. Not my parents fault, they were only doing what they thought I wanted. But I often longed for parents like my friends have. Parents who only allow all A's (maybe I would have made National Honor Society in high school - like EVERY single one of my friends!) Or the parents who dictate where their kids will go to college, or guide them into what they will major in. Don't get me wrong, my friends whose parents were like that acted miserable, but today they are much better off for it. When left to my own devices I tend to get crazy ideas like I wanted to be a Theatre major in a small school. Yeah that didn't work out so well, I switched majors half way through school (which I had always vowed never to do) and went into sports management. I graduated with Honors sure, but now I'm a stay at home because I can't break back into the sports industry! It's a tough economy for sports and it's a tough world in athletics - very competitive ... go figure! So needless to say, I was groundbreaking and I failed. I don't blame my parents though. They just sat by and loved me unconditionally supporting me no matter where my crazy mind took me! How is that NOT awesome? But I can't help to think that if my parents were different in their approach, where would I be? Could I have been an Olympic athlete? If they knew how things worked and had me apply for college sooner, would I have as much debt? Would I have switched majors? I have two older brothers who both went into the military right after high school, so my parents were about as clueless as it comes to the college application process - no blame there! Neither of them graduated from college, so  how could they know?! I applied incredibly late, and only to a few schools. I only visited one, and that's where I ended up, mostly because my very best friend was going and it's the only one I got accepted to.
So where am I going with all of this? It's my insights to parenting 101. As I am a new parent I am determined to combine the best of both those worlds. I will push my children and probably make them do a few things they don't want to do. But as my own personal philosophy goes - how do you know you won't like it unless you try it? How do I know my kid won't excel at sports until I put her in some. If I watch her like a hawk to make sure she does all her homework in a timely way, she won't learn to procrastinate like her mother. If I pay attention we can start looking at schools a year in advance. It's the little things to help mold our children into better versions of ourselves. It's what every creature wants - bigger, better, faster, stronger, smarter. Mostly I can only keep my fingers crossed and pray a lot that she'll turn out all right, but I feel as moms we have a lot of ability to make not only a major impact on our kid, but on an entire generation. And when you "look at life like a chess game instead of checkers" ... it's makes all the difference in the world. I want my kid to be better, so this world will be better.
So if you have kids 2yrs+ NOW during the Olympics is an AWESOME time to reflect and begin to make an impact on their lives. See what they are into and NURTURE NURTURE NURTURE that need or desire! We love our kids and always want the best - we are always searching for ways to make an impact and I think the Olympics is one of the best stages for that. Life lessons, dreams, hopes, values, morals ALL rolled into one world wide event. Take advantage ... I know I will.